National Task Force on the COVID-19 Pandemic Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1489 To establish the National Task Force on the Response of the United States to the COVID–19 Pandemic. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 9, 2023 Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. MARSHALL, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. ERNST, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish the National Task Force on the Response of the United States to the COVID–19 Pandemic. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Task Force 4 on the COVID-19 Pandemic Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE COVID–19 RE- 6 SPONSE. 7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.—There is es- 8 tablished in the legislative branch a task force to be known 9 as the ‘‘National Task Force on the Response of the 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1489.IS S1489 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1489 IS United States to the COVID–19 Pandemic’’ (referred to 1 in this section as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 2 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Task Force are 3 to— 4 (1) examine, assess, and report upon the 5 United States preparedness for, and response to, the 6 COVID–19 pandemic, including— 7 (A) the initial Federal, State, local, and 8 territorial responses in the United States; 9 (B) the ongoing Federal, State, local, and 10 territorial responses in the United States, in- 11 cluding the activities, policies, and decisions of 12 the Trump Administration and the Biden Ad- 13 ministration; 14 (C) the impact of the pandemic on public 15 health and health care systems; and 16 (D) the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China, 17 including efforts to determine the potential 18 causes for the emergence of the SARS–CoV–2 19 virus, and Federal actions to mitigate its spread 20 internationally; 21 (2) build upon existing or ongoing evaluations 22 and avoid unnecessary duplication, by reviewing the 23 findings, conclusions, and recommendations of other 24 appropriate task forces, committees, commissions, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1489.IS S1489 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1489 IS entities established by other public or nonprofit pri- 1 vate entities related to the United States prepared- 2 ness for, and response to, the COVID–19 pandemic; 3 (3) identify gaps in public health preparedness 4 and medical response policies, processes, and activi- 5 ties, including disparities in COVID–19 infection 6 and mortality rates among people of color, older 7 adults, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable 8 or at-risk groups, and how such gaps impacted the 9 ability of the United States to respond to the 10 COVID–19 pandemic; and 11 (4) submit a report to the President and to 12 Congress on its findings, conclusions, and rec- 13 ommendations to improve the United States pre- 14 paredness for, and response to, future public health 15 emergencies, including a public health emergency re- 16 sulting from an emerging infectious disease. 17 (c) COMPOSITION OF TASK FORCE; MEETINGS.— 18 (1) MEMBERS.—The Task Force shall be com- 19 posed of 12 members, of whom— 20 (A) 1 member shall be appointed by the 21 majority leader of the Senate; 22 (B) 1 member shall be appointed by the 23 minority leader of the Senate; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1489.IS S1489 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1489 IS (C) 2 members shall be appointed by the 1 chair of the Committee on Health, Education, 2 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 3 (D) 2 members shall be appointed by the 4 ranking member of the Committee on Health, 5 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 6 (E) 1 member shall be appointed by the 7 Speaker of the House of Representatives; 8 (F) 1 member shall be appointed by the 9 minority leader of the House of Representa- 10 tives; 11 (G) 2 members shall be appointed by the 12 chair of the Committee on Energy and Com- 13 merce of the House of Representatives; and 14 (H) 2 members shall be appointed by the 15 ranking member of the Committee on Energy 16 and Commerce of the House of Representatives. 17 (2) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—Not later than 30 18 days after the date on which all members of the 19 Task Force are appointed under paragraph (1), such 20 members shall meet to elect a Chair and Vice Chair 21 from among such members. The Chair and Vice 22 Chair shall each be elected to serve upon an affirma- 23 tive vote from not less than 8 members of the Task 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1489.IS S1489 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1489 IS Force. The Chair and Vice Chair shall not be reg- 1 istered members of the same political party. 2 (3) QUALIFICATIONS.— 3 (A) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not 4 more than 6 members of the Task Force shall 5 be registered members of the same political 6 party. 7 (B) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.— 8 An individual appointed to the Task Force may 9 not be an officer or employee of the Federal 10 Government or any State, local, Tribal, or terri- 11 torial government. 12 (C) QUALIFICATIONS.—It is the sense of 13 Congress that individuals appointed to the Task 14 Force should be highly qualified citizens of the 15 United States. Members appointed under para- 16 graph (1) may include individuals with expertise 17 in— 18 (i) public health, health disparities 19 and at-risk populations, medicine, and re- 20 lated fields; 21 (ii) State, local, Tribal, or territorial 22 government, including public health and 23 medical preparedness and response and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1489.IS S1489 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1489 IS emergency management and other relevant 1 public administration; 2 (iii) research regarding, or the devel- 3 opment, manufacturing, distribution, and 4 regulation of, medical products; 5 (iv) national security and foreign rela- 6 tions, including global health; and 7 (v) commerce, including transpor- 8 tation, supply chains, and small business. 9 (4) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All mem- 10 bers of the Task Force shall be appointed not later 11 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this 12 Act. 13 (5) MEETINGS.—The Task Force shall meet 14 and begin the operations of the Task Force as soon 15 as practicable. After its initial meeting, the Task 16 Force shall meet upon the call of the Chair and Vice 17 Chair or not less than 8 of its members. 18 (6) QUORUM; VACANCIES.— 19 (A) QUORUM.—Eight members of the 20 Task Force shall constitute a quorum. 21 (B) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Task 22 Force shall not affect its powers, but shall be 23 filled in the same manner in which the original 24 appointment was made. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1489.IS S1489 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1489 IS (d) FUNCTIONS OF TASK FORCE.—The functions of 1 the Task Force are to— 2 (1) conduct a review that— 3 (A) examines the initial outbreak of the 4 SARS–CoV–2 virus in Wuhan, China, includ- 5 ing— 6 (i) engaging with willing partner gov- 7 ernments and global experts; 8 (ii) seeking access to relevant records; 9 and 10 (iii) examining the potential causes of 11 the emergence and source of the virus; 12 (B) examines the United States prepara- 13 tion for, and response to, the COVID–19 pan- 14 demic, including— 15 (i) relevant laws, policies, regulations, 16 and processes that were in place prior to, 17 or put into place during, the public health 18 emergency declared by the Secretary of 19 Health and Human Services under section 20 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 21 U.S.C. 247d) with respect to COVID–19, 22 including any that are put into place re- 23 lated to such public health emergency after 24 the date of enactment of this Act and prior 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1489.IS S1489 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1489 IS to the issuance of the final report pursuant 1 to subsection (j)(2); 2 (ii) relevant actions taken by, and co- 3 ordination between, Federal, State, local, 4 Tribal, and territorial governments, non- 5 governmental organizations, and inter- 6 national organizations on preparedness and 7 response efforts, including coordination be- 8 tween governments and other public and 9 private entities, during the— 10 (I) initial response in the United 11 States; 12 (II) response during the Trump 13 Administration; and 14 (III) ongoing response during the 15 Biden Administration; 16 (iii) communication of public health 17 and scientific information related to the 18 COVID–19 pandemic, including processes 19 for the development, approval, and dis- 20 semination of Federal public health and 21 other relevant public health or scientific 22 guidance; and 23 (iv) actions taken to support the de- 24 velopment, manufacturing, and distribution 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1489.IS S1489 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1489 IS of medical countermeasures and related 1 medical supplies to prevent, detect, and 2 treat COVID–19; and 3 (C) may include assessments relating to— 4 (i) the capacity and capabilities of 5 Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial 6 governments to respond to the COVID–19 7 pandemic; 8 (ii) the capacity and capabilities of 9 health care facilities and the health care 10 workforce to respond to the COVID–19 11 pandemic; 12 (iii) medical countermeasure research 13 and development and the supply chains of 14 medical products necessary to respond to 15 the COVID–19 pandemic; 16 (iv) international preparedness for 17 and response to COVID–19, and Federal 18 decision-making processes related to new 19 global health threats; 20 (v) containment and mitigation meas- 21 ures related to domestic and international 22 travel in response to COVID–19; and 23 (vi) the impact of the COVID–19 pan- 24 demic and related mitigation efforts on 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1489.IS S1489 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1489 IS hard-to-reach and at-risk or underserved 1 populations, including related health dis- 2 parities; 3 (2) identify, review, and evaluate the lessons 4 learned from the COVID–19 pandemic, including ac- 5 tivities to prepare for, and respond to, future poten- 6 tial pandemics and related public health emer- 7 gencies; and 8 (3) submit to the President and Congress such 9 reports as are required by this Act containing such 10 findings, conclusions, and recommendations as the 11 Task Force shall determine. 12 (e) POWERS OF TASK FORCE.— 13 (1) HEARINGS.—The Task Force may— 14 (A) hold such hearings and sit and act at 15 such times and places, take such testimony, re- 16 ceive such evidence as determined by the Chair 17 and Vice Chair, and administer such oaths as 18 the Task Force or a designated member, as de- 19 termined by the Chair or Vice Chair, may de- 20 termine advisable to be necessary to carry out 21 the functions of the Task Force; and 22 (B) subject to paragraph (2)(A), require, 23 by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and 24 testimony of such witnesses and the production 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1489.IS S1489 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1489 IS of such books, records, correspondence, memo- 1 randa, papers, and documents, as the person 2 described in paragraph (2)(A)(i) may determine 3 advisable. 4 (2) SUBPOENAS.— 5 (A) ISSUANCE.— 6 (i) IN GENERAL.—A subpoena may be 7 issued under this subsection only— 8 (I) by the agreement of the Chair 9 and the Vice Chair; or 10 (II) by the affirmative vote of not 11 less than 9 members of the Task 12 Force. 13 (ii) SIGNATURE.—Subpoenas issued 14 under this subsection may be issued under 15 the signature of the Chair or any member 16 designated by a majority of the Task 17 Force, and may be served by any person 18 designated by the Chair or by a member 19 designated by agreement of the majority of 20 the Task Force. 21 (B) ENFORCEMENT.—In the case of contu- 22 macy or failure to obey a subpoena issued 23 under subsection, the United States district 24 court for the judicial district in which the sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1489.IS S1489 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1489 IS poenaed person resides, is served, or may be 1 found, or where the subpoena is returnable, 2 may issue an order requiring such person to ap- 3 pear at any designated place to testify or to 4 produce documentary or other evidence. Any 5 failure to obey the order of the court may be 6 punished by the court as a contempt of that 7 court. 8 (3) CONTRACTING.—The Task Force may, to 9 such extent and in such amounts as are provided in 10 appropriation Acts, enter into contracts to enable 11 the Task Force to discharge its duties under this 12 Act. 13 (4) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force may 15 access from any executive department, bureau, 16 agency, board, commission, office, independent 17 establishment, or instrumentality of the Federal 18 Government, such information, documents, sug- 19 gestions, estimates, and statistics as the Task 20 Force considers necessary to carry out this sec- 21 tion. 22 (B) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—On 23 written request of the Chair, each department, 24 bureau, agency, board, commission, office, inde- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 May 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1489.IS S1489 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1489 IS pendent establishment, or instrumentality shall, 1 to the extent authorized by law, provide such 2 information to the Task Force. 3 (C) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND 4 DISSEMINATION.—Information shall only be re- 5 ceived, handled, stored, and disseminated by 6 members of the Task Force and its staff con- 7 sistent with all applicable statutes, regulations, 8 and executive orders. 9 (5) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 10 (A) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRA- 11 TION.—On request of the Chair and Vice Chair, 12 the Administrator of the General Services A [Text truncated for display. 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